Hyundai IX35 Fuel Cell enters production

Hyundai’s manufacturing facility in Ulsan has built a white Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell vehicle – marking the start of assembly-line production of zero-emissions, hydrogen-powered vehicles for fleet use. This makes Hyundai the first automaker in the world to have assembly-line production for this type of vehicle. Hyundai Motor Company’s Plant No. 5 rolled out the ix35 Fuel Cell vehicle, which is based on the brand’s ix35, C-segment SUV, at a launch event.

Hyundai intends to produce 1,000 ix35 Fuel Cell vehicles by 2015 to be leased to public and private fleets, located mainly in Europe, where the European Union has set up a hydrogen road map and has started building hydrogen fueling stations. Hyundai will start to make hydrogen fuel cell vehicles for consumer retail sales by 2015, with reduced auto production costs and the additional development of hydrogen infrastructure.

Hydrogen powers Hyundai’s ix35 Fuel Cell, which was built using proprietary technology. Hydrogen is converted into electricity with the use of a fuel cell stack. This will then run the car’s motor.

Water is the only emission from this ix35 Fuel Cell. Hyundai claims that the drivability and performance that’s a result of the ix35 Fuel Cell is comparable to that of the petrol ix35. The ix35 Fuel Cell’s marketability is enhanced with the development and use of a new radiator grille, bumper, fog lamps, instrument cluster and 7-inch GPS exclusively for the hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

In addition, the modularisation of fuel cell systems for the core part of the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, including the fuel cell stack, driving device and inverter, permitted the engine to be downsized in order to suit the petrol engine’s size while boosting productivity and raising the convenience for maintenance. In just a few minutes, the ix35 Fuel Cell can be refueled with hydrogen. It can go from zero to 100 km/h in 12.5 seconds and it can reach a 160 km/h top speed. On a single charge, the car gets a range of 594 kilometers.